Second Engineer
Second Engineer Yuki Tanaka
Osaka, Japan
Competitive Excel. Communicates disapproval via pivot table.
Maintains the ship's unofficial fuel efficiency league table, currently 47 columns wide. Has never once raised his voice; has, on three occasions, sent an email that ended a career. Believes that any problem worth solving is worth solving with a properly named worksheet tab.
Portrait is a comic book invention. Under the conditions of my passage, no likeness of the working crew may appear here, names have been changed and faces drawn from memory.
Saturday, 31 October 2026Halloween in the Mess
A pumpkin carved like the ship, a crew party at sea, Big Kev dressed as himself, a costume coincidence, and a very small pie.
Monday, 26 October 2026The Albatross
A Laysan albatross follows the ship for most of a day. I borrow Coleridge from the library, Yuki corrects my ornithology, and Priya has one rule.
Saturday, 24 October 2026The Dream Garage, Revised
A late shift in the engine control room with Tiny and Yuki, a garage expanded from five spaces to ten, the Miata promoted, and the brass object revealed.
Wednesday, 21 October 2026The Starboard Minds Win
After two seconds, a third, and a debrief I still think about, our trivia team finally wins. A car question decides it. Priya's high five lasts slightly too long.
Sunday, 18 October 2026Tiny's Workshop
The second Saturday, a lathe, a lump of brass, and a long conversation with Tiny about fathers, Peugeots, and the correct way to hold a file.
18 August 2026Flying Fish and a Quiet Day
Fish that leave the water and stay out of it for longer than seems reasonable, a lost trivia rematch, and a debrief I did not enjoy.
14 August 2026The Engine Room at Full Noise
Two hours below with Big Kev, ear defenders that did not entirely work, and a machine so large it stops being a machine and becomes weather.
9 August 2026Through the Strait of Gibraltar
Africa on one side, Europe on the other, and the entire ship's company suddenly finding a reason to be on deck.
3 August 2026A Kite, Plain Rice, and a Respectable Second
Priya taught me to fly a kite from the bridge deck. Elena moved me onto plain rice and plain toast. Container has claimed the foot of my bed. We came second at trivia.